Free Back to You: Bad Boys of Red Hook by Robin Kaye Page A

with herself and with him. She’d never been one to fall all over a man. No one had ever left her wanting; no one had ever affected her to the point of madness; no one had ever made her fall in love. Except for Storm.

C HAPTER 5
    Storm stood behind the bar, sipping a club soda and studying the menu. It contained a hell of a lot more than the burgers and fries Pete had always offered. The new menu had appetizers, soups, salads, entrées, and desserts.
    The bar had been busy since he’d come down and relieved Rocki—something else that hadn’t happened when Pete was running the place, but not everything had changed. The menu still had everything he’d craved when he was away from the States: Red Hook’s famous lobster rolls, Key lime pie, and, most of all, beer from Sixpoint Brewery—all in all the perfect meal as far as he was concerned.
    The two servers working lunch were well trained, and by three o’clock, the bar service had picked up and there was still a busy late-lunch crowd at the booths and tables.
    Bree hid out in her office. If she was waiting for him to fall on his face and beg for help, she’d have a long wait.
    Storm had already introduced himself to the kitchen staff and asked about the specials. He’d even received aquick lesson on how to place an order on the bar computer from one of the servers. It was an easy-enough program to pick up. Sure, he had to figure out some of the intricacies and get an employee code of his own, but for now he was using Bree’s—which must have really chapped her ass. And what a fine ass it was.
    “What’s that smile all about?” Rocki pulled up a stool and leaned toward him across the bar. “And what the hell did you do to piss off Bree so badly?”
    “Which time?”
    “Touché.”
    He leaned back, held her gaze, and waited for it.
    Rocki, instead of peppering him with questions, settled for a stare off. Her eyes held questions, warnings, along with a good bit of humor. Storm had a feeling that once he got to know her, he’d like her as much as Breezy seemed to, even if the girl couldn’t tend bar to save her own life. It had taken him an hour to clean up the mess she’d made in a quarter of that time.
    Storm wasn’t sure how long they’d stared at each other before she finally nodded and slipped off the stool. “I’m glad we understand each other.”
    Storm gave her a mock salute. “Perfectly.”
    She stepped behind the bar, turned off the music, and flipped another switch before sitting down at the piano to take requests for the next hour from the regulars who came in with briefcases and loosened ties for a mixture of standards and Brahms. Yeah, Storm was pretty sure he was going to like Rocki a whole lot.
    He fell back into the routine of tending bar as if he’d never stopped. By five, the place was hopping—delivering Storm directly into the weeds. He was just about to send one of the servers to find Breezy, when a big guywearing a black polo and khaki pants came around the bar and logged onto the computer, switching out the cash drawer.
    “I’m Simon. Who are you, and where’s Breanna?”
    Storm didn’t like his tone but couldn’t really blame him. “Storm Decker, Pete’s son. I came to take some of the pressure off Bree.”
    Simon relaxed and shook his hand. “Good to see one of you finally showed up.”
    “I just found out the day before yesterday—and it’s a twenty-four-hour flight. Pop’s not much of a communicator.”
    Simon blew out a breath. “I’ve been worried about both Bree and Pete. I’m glad you’re here. Bree’s been running herself ragged.”
    “Yeah, well, my presence here won’t make much of a difference if she won’t let me help.”
    Simon stopped midswipe. “She’s got a real stubborn streak, and from what I gathered, you’re not her favorite of Pete’s kids.”
    “Thanks for the news flash.”
    “Hey, Breanna—looking good.”
    Storm looked up from the order he was pouring. Bree walked toward the bar,